US891801A - Musical-device pneumatic apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

R. A. GALLY. MUSICAL DEVICE PNEUMATIC APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 2, 1908.

lqyentor:

In thea'ccornpanying draw-ii weat rchanges, and 'lnuch air tension for operation.

ROBERT A. (RALLY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

- musma'ri navroa 'PNEUMAT'IQ arraaaros.

To 'izfll whom it mayconcern:

it known that I, Ronnn'r A .GALLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at w Bi o'olclyn, New York, have-invented certain 5 new and useful Ini rovement-s in Musical- Device Pneumatic l pparatus, Ofj.: Wlll(Jll the I Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed January 16, 1908, Serial No. 411,118. i 4 v a Serial No. 418,834.

following is a specification, this application being-a division ,of ray-original application No. ftl l llS, filed January 16, 1908;

10 ,The'obwcjt of my invention-is the constifii'c'tidn off simpler and more direct; acting and fi'ectlv'e' 'pne'uinatic actlon -for musica pparat s, it being especially-adapted in its --gei 1e'1'jal" airange'r nent for use n player-pianos. sjFigurel is a seetional view from the trcb efend ofjn prieu'rnati action, showing its co' actio'nwit the. piano action; Fig. 2, is 'a plan of the pneu'inatic chest from the. under side. near "for controlling the pneumatic valves vers', stickers, eto between; thiii strikerpneijmatiesand theflkeys, abstracts-or wipr ens', ausin 'xloss .ofpower by friction, lia- *bility of, rattling-or stiekin from -wear and g other- 0f getting outof regulation, even to the extentof inter feri-ng with the correct regulation for nranual performance, while the few designs avoiding thecomplicated, connections have had their 35 power -pn'eumatics directly cngagin the ab stracts at the opening ends of tie pneun1atics,"therehy failingto'obtain any increase .Qf levjei-a gc such as is requisite for a lirni Hench-"of the notes and areasonahly low Also, the windways connecting the valves and pneumatics have usu'alljbeen somewhat tortuous, eaus, ing frictional-loss of power, and, slowness of e of upper. board; and Fig; 3-

20 theitro'b le end, the bottom board of; said'ac speech, except when an umlcsirablyhigh air iXBIlSlOIl-"WILS employed. l-ovcrco ne these faults in'tlie following simple, sy working,

and economical Manners-e.

'- place my strikenpneuhratios I iii liori zontal' row s; .(pnv-ferably three), jwith their 60 Mater als ifacingto the front of tlrcjpianoo-r other, nstruimin't, the, =nioving-board 2 of ear! I prr'eunnt-tic beingat the top of each with rt sshingg 3 at. the rear, andonytop .of the moving-hoard 2 is fastene "alt Patented June 23, 1908. Divided and this application filed March 2, I908.

heel-lever ,4 extending to the rear of .the pneumatic and having its rear end felted and resting up against a lug 5 fast on the abstract 6 of that particular tone-producing action, the heel-lever 4 reversing the downward stroke of pneumatic 1 to 'anupward lift on the lug 5 and abstract 6 to actuate it. lugs 5 are preferablyupward] curved at their front lower, corhers to faci 'tate replacing of the pneumatic-action. As :the abcontact face of lug 5 and lever 4 somewhat fiwhich wou d coincide. with .the hinge 3, thereby securing-a small forward movement of the contact end of lever 4-approximating any friction. I 1

l he weight-of a pneumaticof the-present structure .always causes the contact end of its lever 4 torise to contact with lug .5,therey preventing any racing or thumping during pe a n, 25 Most playebpianos have used various-lei To insure an enact and perinanent limitation of the rise of" the abstract fi at the correct point required by the tone-producing each lug. 5 of the middle row of lugs, that row having lugs to every abstract, although the other rows need only have lugs to every third note to which the pneuinatics of that row correspondj 'lhcsc checks 7 are held by a mill; carried by pro uprights 10 which rise at t 1e rear of the ab stracts from the swing-rail '11. The checks 7 can be accurately adjusted to the exact rise of. the abstracts wl'icri the keys and ac- 'tionare regulated while the pneumatic action is out of the instrument, and the pneuinatic lovers 4 will self-level themselves thereto as already described, and'the pneuinent in both directions, an exact operation of the abstract and its action will always be certain, and no danger of the penumatics llost motion to the abstracts. The tubes 12' are carried longitudinally between-the horizontal rows of 41p Wardlyt'o" the tracker-bar t irough the open spaces where the breaks of the scale occur.-

' A piano-action has its hammers carefully stracts of pianos usually have asinall forward movement when they. rise, I position above that right angle-line from the abstract that of lug 5 of abstract 6 thereby avoiding 4 action, 1 place a regulating check 7- aboveinatios 1 having a possible surplus move-- and-their levers ever crowding to, or having neurnatics and s 9 screwed into .egztensioncr' graded weight from heavy'ones at the bass up, to much smaller ones at the high treble, to insure a pro er ,stroke on the strings'of varied sizes an tensions to secure tones throughout the scale;

Piano sel -playing'd evices have heretofore had'all the'strikerpneum'atics'of the scale of one size'and similai" leverage, producing an unbalanced musical eflect, the treble notes overloud-for soft basses "and the basses lost.

when" the treble" very soft. The lpneu-I maticsiherein sho' are ded down fi'om bass-to treble-as to their e th, width, and

leverage, thus effeotinga pe ectly'balanced musical result, even to a great extent producing a selection of melody from accompaniment in angfxart of the scale without y selecting devices or diany special mel visionsof' scale. the chamber at the heel of the'pneumatic' re 'uires' to be wider at the treble than itjs possible to have the bellows portion, the 'lat r is made narrower than its for-:the' tre le notes.- The controlling valves-as 13-are' also graded -in size to 'ai proper stroke and-their controlling pneumizespaceand g p The novel general arrangement of the chests, neumatics and levers relative to the abstracts and keys has been shown in my moving-board. having one-meant thereby.

prior application #409,473,-but not being claimab e there'in was then reserved forfuture application, the present one being the L What I claimas my invention is: 1 A manual-kc board,'vertical abstracts above the rcarlen s of the keys, and hinged horizontal strikerneumatics above said keys, each neumatic having its openin 'end facing to't e front of the keys and moving" board striking downwardlyfsaid" its a hinge and an extension or lever iixe I extending rcarwardlyoffits hinge tothe abstract, and engag'ing means between said lever and abstract.

'2. .A manual ke board, vertical abstracts above the rear end horizontal striker-Pneumatics above said keys, each neumatlc having its opening end facing to the front o'f'the keys and with its moving board strik'iiigdownwardly, said moving-hoard having a hinge and-an ex tension or bver fixed with said board and extending r arwardly of its hinge to the ab stract, and a luglixed to said abstract and engaged by said lever.

3.,.Afmanual kc board, verticalabstracts abovethe rear en s of the keys, and hinged horizontal striker-prieumatics -above"said keys, each pneumatic having-its opening-end facing tothe front of .the keys and with its moving board striking downwardly, said moving-board having a hinge andan extension or lever arm fixed with said 'board' and ex tending rear-wardly of its hinge'to the desirable matics 14, 15, aresimila'rlygraded to'ec'onowith said board and s' of-the keys, and hinged' "vice having stri abstract, and a lug fixed to said abstract and enfiaged by said lever, said lug Gfirved upwarr y and forwardly at itslower front corner.

4. A manual ke boar'd,'vertical abstracts above the rear end; of the keys and having a slightly forward movement during their upward stroke, horizontal downwardly strikmg strikerneumatics witha rearward hinge,.'al l above said keys, the moving-board of each pneumatic havin a' rename-ex: engaging meansbetween said lever .arm and abstract, the said hinge: being lower. than the engagement tension or; lever arm, an

point 10f thc lever with the abstract.

5. A11\"upwardlyactin vertical abstract, a downwardly acting, 1orizontal, hinged striker-pneumatic with a rearwardly extend-5' ing reverse lever arm, and engaging-meansbetween the rear end of saidlever and said abstract the wei ht, of theidownwardly mpvi part of sai neumaticibein eater than? P ea 6 upwardly acting; vertical abstract, a downwardly actin at of the lever arm to raise'thelever im contact with thefengaging-means. r 10:: 5

9.0 orizontahzs hinged striker-pneumaticwit r a rearwardly cxtendmg reverse .lever arm, ,and engaging means. between the rear end SMLl .lever arm andi- Tim-a3 i. "9 7. A piano-actuating pneumatic action: a.

said abstract.

havingseveralsuperimposed horizontal rows wise of .and between said'rows of pneumatofl' prieumzitica, and .controll ing tubes con--" nected therewith, said tubes .carriedjlength ecg ice and passingupwards at. th e wide spaces corresponding the breaks of. t he piano-'2 scale;

' 8 21A player-piano pneumatic action having several su crimposed horizontal rows of pneumatics a ove the he s and with their. open ends facing forward y, a tracker, and

controlling tubes carried lengthwise of andbetween said rows, one end of each tube connected to its'eorrcsponding pneumatic, and the other end'continued upwardly to the tracker. I

9. An auto-pneumatic piano playing dcvicc having strikerneumatics varied in area from'hass to tre ale of the'scalc.

10. 'An auto;pneumatic piano playing device having striker-pneul l latirs varied in length from bass to treble of the scale. 1.

. :11. An auto-pneumatic piano playingdevibe having striker-pneumatics variedein,

width from. bass to treble of .thescale.

er-pneumatics' and str kerleve'rs,'. the leverage of the pncumatics and their levers to treble'of t '13. A

e scale.

neumatic action having a row of -12.' Anautoipe'umatic piano playing at;

permanently varied from Miss W bellows s lapcd pncuniatics each with a rearwardly extending heel part and all 'saidheelparts o f a similar width, thebellows parts of the bass neumatics being the same width pneumatics the said neumatics varied in as their heel parts, and the bellows parts of area from bass to treb e of the scale. the treble neumatics being narrower than 17. An auto-pneumatic iano playing de- 15 their heels. vice having note controlling valves, and

5 14. ;A bellows-shaped pneumatichavinga pneumatics actuating said valves, both rearwardly extending heel part wider than valves and neum-aties varied in size from the begglws part. 1 bass to treb c. of the scale. 15. auto pneumatic piano p ayin action having notecon'trollim valves graded R6131 GALLY' 10 in size from bass to treble o? the s' ale. Witnesses:

l6. .An-auto-pneumatic piano playing de- SM. G'ALLY,

vice having note-valves and controlling MARY A. GALLY.

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